Saturday, May 12, 2012

The first picture is SIHI visiting Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh. Here they are sitting on the marble steps listening to bhajans before the aarti ceremony started. Starting at 7:30am the next day, SIHI volunteered with the Clean Himalaya NGO to pick up garbage that had blown onto the road from a nearby dumping site. Clean Himalaya hopes to restore this area, which had once been the site of popular spiritual retreats, to its original beauty. On the last day in Rishikesh, SIHI travelled further up the mountain and made a few stops along the extremely narrow and curvy road to admire the view. After a nauseating and nerve-racking drive to the mountain peak and 300 stairs later, SIHI was given a chance to rehydrate and recuperate in the refreshingly cool breeze at the Mata Kunjapuri mandir.